Word Study Bible Guide: How to Study Greek and Hebrew Words Without Knowing the Languages

Some of the most significant insights in Bible study come from understanding what the original Hebrew or Greek word actually means — and how it's used across Scripture. The problem: most Christians don't know Hebrew or Greek.

The good news: you don't need to. Free tools make original language study accessible to anyone with a Bible and a computer.

Why Word Studies Matter

English translations, however good, involve choices. A single Greek or Hebrew word may be translated differently in different contexts — and a single English word may translate several different Greek or Hebrew words.

Examples:

• "Love" in English translates four different Greek words: agape, philia, storge, eros — each with different nuances
• "Sin" translates multiple Hebrew and Greek words: hamartia (missing the mark), paraptōma (trespass), anomia (lawlessness), asebeia (ungodliness) — each with different emphases
• "Repentance" translates metanoia (change of mind/direction) and metamellomai (regret) — they're not the same thing

Understanding which word you're looking at, and how it's used elsewhere, transforms how you read a passage.

The Primary Tool: Blue Letter Bible

Blue Letter Bible (blueletterbible.org) is free, online, and remarkably powerful. Here's how to use it for a word study:

Step 1: Find Your Verse

Go to blueletterbible.org. Search for your verse (e.g., John 3:16).

Step 2: Access the Interlinear

Click the "Tools" tab (or "Interlinear" option) for your verse. This shows you the English translation side by side with the original Greek (or Hebrew), word by word.

Step 3: Click on the Word You Want to Study

Click on the Greek or Hebrew word you want to examine. You'll see:

• The word in its original language
• The pronunciation
• The Strong's number (a reference system for looking up words)
• The definition
• Every occurrence of that word in the Bible (the concordance view)
• Related words

Step 4: Read the Definition

The lexicon entry tells you:

• The basic meaning of the word
• Its range of meanings (some words are used in very different ways in different contexts)
• Its derivation and related words
• How it was used in secular Greek/Hebrew literature

Step 5: Look at Other Occurrences

The most important step: read the word in other passages. Seeing how a word is used across Scripture gives you a richer sense of its semantic range than any definition alone.

For example: looking at pisteuō (believe/trust) in other passages shows you that it takes different objects, is sometimes used of temporary faith (John 8:30-31 vs. 8:44), and consistently involves commitment and trust rather than just intellectual assent.

A Sample Word Study: Agape (Love)

The word: Agape (Strong's G26) — the love most commonly associated with God's love and Christian ethics.

Definition from lexicon: To have a strong preference, to prize, to regard highly. In the New Testament, agape is often distinguished from philia (affection/friendship) and eros (romantic/erotic love) as the particular kind of love that is self-giving, covenantal, not conditioned on the worthiness of the recipient.

Key occurrences to study:

• John 3:16: "For God so agapaō (loved) the world..."
• John 13:34-35: "As I have agapaō-d you, so you must agapaō one another"
• Romans 5:8: "God demonstrates his own agape for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us"
• 1 Corinthians 13: The great agape passage — describing its qualities
• 1 John 4:7-12: "Whoever does not agapaō does not know God, because God is agape"

What you learn: Agape in the New Testament is consistently associated with self-giving love that doesn't depend on the recipient's merit. It's used of God's love and commanded as the defining characteristic of Christian community. Its costliness (demonstrated in Christ's death) and its unconditional character (given to enemies and sinners) distinguish it from love as warm feeling.

Application: When you read "love your enemies" (agapaō in Matthew 5:44), you understand that Jesus is not asking for warm feelings. He's asking for a settled commitment to seek the good of the one who has harmed you — regardless of feeling, regardless of their merit. That's a different (harder and more specific) command than "feel positively about your enemies."

A Sample Word Study: Shalom (Peace)

The word: Shalom (Strong's H7965) — Hebrew for "peace."

The issue: English "peace" often means simply the absence of conflict. Shalom is much richer.

Definition from lexicon: Completeness, soundness, welfare, peace. The concept of shalom in the Old Testament encompasses:

• Absence of conflict (but that's only part of it)
• Wholeness and completeness — the proper functioning of all relationships
• Flourishing — not just "okay" but thriving
• Justice — shalom cannot exist where injustice persists

Key occurrences:

• Numbers 6:24-26 (the Aaronic blessing): "The LORD turn his face toward you and give you shalom"
• Isaiah 9:6: The coming Messiah will be "Prince of Shalom"
• Isaiah 53:5: "The punishment that brought us shalom was upon him"
• Jeremiah 29:7: "Seek the shalom of the city where I have sent you into exile"
• Jeremiah 29:11: "plans to give you hope and a future" — often translated "plans to prosper you," shalom is the actual word

What you learn: When Jesus says "I give you my peace" (John 14:27), the Greek is eirēnē — but his Jewish audience would hear shalom. He's offering not just absence of anxiety but comprehensive wellbeing, wholeness, right relationship with God and each other.

When Jeremiah tells the exiles to "seek the shalom" of Babylon, he's commanding them to pursue the comprehensive flourishing of the city where they live — their welfare and the city's are connected.

Resources for Going Deeper

Blue Letter Bible (free): The starting point for everything.

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (print): The classic reference.

BDAG (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament): The gold standard academic Greek lexicon. Expensive but invaluable.

NIDNTTE (New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis): Accessible scholarly entries on New Testament words.

NIDOTTE (New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis): The Old Testament equivalent.

Logos Bible Software: A paid software platform that integrates multiple lexicons, concordances, and commentaries. Expensive but extraordinarily powerful for serious students.

Getting Started

This week, pick one word from your regular Bible reading that you're curious about. Go to Blue Letter Bible, find it in the interlinear, read the lexicon entry, and look at five other passages where it appears.

Ten minutes of word study can open a passage in ways that years of surface reading don't. The text is richer than any translation can fully communicate — and the tools to access that richness are free.

Related: Bible Study Methods Compared | How to Study the Bible for Beginners